


Waiting

by Wanderlust14



Series: MDimileth Week Fics [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Male My Unit | Byleth, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Thoughts of Self-harm, no actual self-harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:27:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27678062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wanderlust14/pseuds/Wanderlust14
Summary: Dimitri liked the name that was written on his chest, above his heart.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth
Series: MDimileth Week Fics [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2022593
Comments: 14
Kudos: 101





	Waiting

B Y L E T H

Dimitri liked the name that was written on his chest, above his heart. He liked to look at the word in the mirror and trace the letters with his fingers. He did not know how to read, but he knew this name. He thought it was the prettiest name he had ever heard, though according to his father, he had to keep it a secret. 

“Why?” Dimitri had asked, looking up at him.

His father stroked his hair with a sad smile, “We don’t want everyone deciding to name their child Byleth. It will make finding the real Byleth much harder.”

Dimitri considered that for a moment and nodded, “I promise.”

“Thank you.” His father said.

“Daddy, can I see your soul name?”

His father’s smile faded but he nodded. He shifted his clothes and revealed a name on his chest, but something looked off about it. The letters did not feel whole anymore and Dimitri was alarmed by the sight. 

His father sighed and lifted him up, setting him on his lap. “Dimitri, when your soulmate dies, their name will fade.”

Dimitri immediately put a hand to his own mark. He did not want it to fade. He liked his mark.

His father pulled him into a hug, “It is alright, your name is safe, but when Mommy died, her name faded.”

Dimitri looked at the mark again and gently put his hand over the faded letters, tracing them slowly. He could feel his father’s heartbeat under it. “That was Mommy’s name?”

“Yes.” 

He frowned. He did not remember her, but he liked looking at the paintings of her. She seemed pretty and nice. “I wish Mommy was here.”

“I do too.” His father said softly. 

Dimitri leaned against his chest and listened to his heart. He hoped his soulmate’s name never faded from him. 

***

There were times Dimitri was jealous of Sylvain and Felix and Ingrid and Glenn. They had already met their soulmates and he was impatient to finally find his own. He had often imagined what the person would look like. He pictured them with brown or red hair and a friendly smile. He was not sure if they were a boy or a girl and he was alright with that. No matter what, he wanted his soulmate to be friendly, kind, and good with horses. He wanted to be able to go on long horse rides with them through the royal forest and be friends. 

Then, his father died and Dimitri stopped caring about ever finding his. Nothing else really matter except getting revenge on those who murdered his family and friends. He was sure it was not the Duscur people. It was too obvious and did not make any sense. His father was going for peace and people were excited, why murder him? 

No, he knew someone else had to be involved. He would discover who they were and finally get revenge for the dead. If he still lived after that, perhaps he would find his soulmate. 

He glanced at his chest and touched the word written on his heart. He felt nothing. It was hard to care about an unknown name to an unknown person. He touched the word again and wished he felt something.

***

Byleth

He had thought he put such concerns behind him and yet standing before him was Byleth, the only Byleth he had ever met. He knew it was possible that this was not his Byleth, but something inside of him was sure. The quiet, somber young man was not what he was expecting from his soulmate.

At the same time, Dimitri liked him, a lot. He liked Byleth’s quiet nature that allowed him to listen so well to the problems of others. He liked his intelligence that allowed him to quickly adjust to any situation thrown at him. He liked the hints of humor he was beginning to see, just below the surface. Byleth was a mystery to him and Dimitri wanted to know everything about him. He knew it was inappropriate, Byleth was his Professor. However, at most, he was three or four years older than him and truthfully, this was his soulmate. According to the Church, they were a gift from the Goddess, he could not see Lady Rhea objecting. 

He had hoped his Professor would approach him but as the time passed, he quickly realized that would not happen. It made sense; his Professor was a kind and honorable man. Dimitri could not see him approaching a student about such a topic. He tried to wait and be patient. 

It was after the Battle of the Eagle and the Lion that he finally gave up and approached Byleth. He had been living with the secret the entire time and he was desperate to know for sure. Getting revenge was still important, but suddenly his soulmate matter again, especially if it was Byleth. 

“Professor, I need to talk to you.” 

Byleth looked up at him and actually smiled slightly. It was still shocking to see though smiles appear on his face, but Dimitri delighted in each and every one of them. “Of course.”

Dimitri closed the door and sat down, taking a deep breath. “Professor…I want to talk to you about…about my soul mark.”

Byleth suddenly grew still, “Ah about that.”

Their eyes met and Dimitri knew. Byleth was his soulmate. Byleth wore his mark. His heart began to beat faster. “Professor.”

“I am…your Professor.”

Dimitri frowned and suddenly tensed up when he realized the issue. “Oh.”

Byleth looked away and then back at him. “In six months, you will graduate from the academy.”

Dimitri relaxed, realizing what he was suggesting. “I understand.”

Byleth smiled at him again, a tiny one that felt so sweet, “Thank you.”

“But, can I see it?” Dimitri asked, “Please, just this once.”

He sighed, but shifted his clothes and there it sat proudly on his chest, just above his heart.

D I M I T R I

He once asked Sylvain how he knew for sure that Felix was really his soulmate and there was not another Sylvain and Felix out there searching for them. Sylvain had smiled, slapped his shoulder, and told him that he would know, but that it would not make sense until he met his own soulmate. As he gazed upon the mark, he knew Sylvain was right.

Without thinking, he reached out and touched it. He felt Byleth shiver and immediately pulled his hand away, mortified, “I apologize I-”

“No.” Byleth said, though he did cover up his mark. “I understand, don’t worry, but are you alright waiting?”

Dimitri smiled, “I waited almost 18 years for you. Another six months is nothing.”

He meant it too. He was quite content to wait until graduation to discuss their relationship further. He knew Byleth was his soulmate and that knowledge soothed something inside of him. He had little doubt that the next six months would be both very long and pass very quickly. 

***

Dimitri frequently held the knife to his chest and stared. His soul mark should have faded. Byleth fell. He died before they could ever talk. His mark should have faded, but it was still there, the deep black ink branding his chest. Dimitri hated seeing it. He frequently held his knife to his soul mark and thought about cutting it out. It would not be hard. Byleth was not a long name. 

He could never press the knife though. To cut Byleth’s name would be to reject his soulmate. It would sever him from Byleth for the rest of their lives. He would be rejecting the gift the goddess had given, offending her deeply, but he did not care about her. He had prayed to her so often and she had never responded. 

Perhaps if he cut his name, Byleth would return to him. He was the only person who did not haunt him and there was a small part of him that wished he did, wished to see him again. At the same time, such an act would be dishonoring Byleth, dishonoring the dead and that was the only reason he lived. He needed to focus on revenge, nothing else matter. 

He dropped the knife and looked away. The name would remain, he had more important things to worry about than the word on his body. He covered himself again and sighed. Not seeing it was easier. If he could not see it, he could pretend it was faded.

He heard voices and smiled. More rats that needed to be dealt with. This was something he could do. 

***

Sometimes, Dimitri wondered if it would not have been better if he had cut Byleth’s name. Not so he could be free of Byleth, but so he could be free from Dimitri. It would have hurt Byleth, but he would have been able to find someone better, someone who was actually worthy of him.

As it was, Dimitri knew he was failing his soulmate. They had not spoken about it since that day so many years ago and he did not know what to do. He did not know how to be Byleth’s soulmate, not after everything he had done and said. He had apologized but it did not feel like enough. He did not even know if Byleth wanted to be his soulmate anymore. Dimitri supposed if he truly wanted to be parted, Byleth could have approached him about cutting the names, but his former Professor was not cruel. He would never hurt Dimitri like that.

Frequently, Dimitri felt Byleth’s eyes on him, but when their gazes met, he never understood what he wanted from him. Byleth would just nod and give him a little smile before turning back to whatever he was supposed to be doing. He knew they needed to talk, but words were hard to come by, especially when he felt so low.

“Can I speak to you?” Byleth asked softly.

He looked exhausted, but then it had been a rather long and stress day as they prepared for their march to Derdriu and plotted how to hold Fhirdiad and Garreg Mach. It felt unfair to have to leave so soon after arriving and rescuing Fhirdiad, but he could not abandon Claude either. He swore he would help the living, but he promised himself that he would make it up to his soldiers and allies later.

“Of course.” Dimitri replied. 

“Can I see it?”

“What?”

“My name.”

Dimitri was surprised by the question but nodded. He looked down at the hard armor he was wearing and quickly realized an issue. “Come on.”

Byleth followed him to his room and Dimitri removed his chest piece. He then lifted up his shirt and showed the name that was still sitting above his heart. It seemed odd that nothing had changed about it after everything that happened, but the ink was still dark and full against his skin. Byleth sighed and touched the name.

Dimitri flinched without meaning too. The feeling of soft leather gloves against his skin shocked him and Byleth pulled his hand away blushing, “Forgive me.”

“No, I…” It reminded Dimitri of that day so long ago, “No, there is nothing to forgive. Why did you want to see it?”

Byleth looked away, “I…sometimes wondered if it faded, while I was gone.”

“No, it was always there.”

“Good, I’m glad.”

“Are you?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?” Dimitri hesitated and Byleth gave him a long look. “I am happy that you are my soulmate.”

Dimitri looked away at those gentle yet painful words, “I don’t deserve you as a soulmate, not after everything I’ve done.”

There was silence for few long heartbeats and then he felt Byleth’s hand touch his own. “You have done terrible things, I know that, but do not forget that I was once the Ashen Demon. I am not innocent either.” 

He did not know how to respond to that. He knew about the Ashen Demon, but it was hard to reconcile the man before him with the tales. “Byleth,” He began, still unsure. 

“But you are trying to redeem yourself and I believe you will.” Byleth continued, cutting him off, “I know you do not feel worthy, but you are. There is no one else I would rather have as a soulmate than you.”

He looked into Byleth’s beautiful eyes and kissed him. They still had so much to figure out and problems to face, but for once, he just wanted to enjoy the moment. He felt Byleth’s arms wrap around his neck and knew this was exactly right. 

***

“Daddy, what does it say?”

Dimitri looked at Lambert who was examining his soul mark. 

“It says Celeste, remember?”

“Yes, and Celeste will be my soulmate?”

“Yes.”

“What if I don’t like her?”

Dimitri smiled, “I am sure you will, but if you don’t, we will figure something out.”

His son nodded, “Can I see yours?”

Dimitri shifted his clothes and revealed the mark over his heart. Lambert touched it gently, tracing the letters with his finger. “What does it say?”

“It is Papa’s name, Byleth.”

Lambert’s smile at those words warmed Dimitri’s heart. He never doubted Byleth would be kind and loving to their children, but there was a part of him that was still afraid that Byleth and their children would not connect, because he was technically their step parent. He knew that was unfair, but Patricia had not love him, not really, and the worry lingered no matter how hard he tried to push it from his mind. Luckily, that fear vanished completely the first time he saw Byleth hold their little baby and began to cry.

“And Papa has your name?”

“Yes.”

Lambert considered the word for a moment before leaning his head against the mark. “When will I meet Celeste?”

Dimitri stroked his son’s hair, “I don’t know. It can take time to meet your soulmate, but the wait will be worth it.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
